Save image states as snapshots

You can record the state of an image at any time by creating a snapshot. Snapshots are stored renditions of an image that contain the complete set of edits made up until the time the snapshot is created. By creating snapshots of an image at various times during the editing process, you can easily compare the effects of the adjustments you make. You can also return to an earlier state if you want to use it at another time. Another benefit of snapshots is that you can work from multiple versions of an image without having to duplicate the original.

Create and manage snapshots using the Snapshots tab of the Camera Raw dialog box.

Click the New Snapshot button at
the bottom of the Snapshots tab to create a snapshot.

Type a name in the New Snapshot dialog box and click
OK.

The snapshot appears in the Snapshots tab list.

When working with snapshots, you can do any of the following:

To rename a snapshot, right-click (Windows) or Control-click
(Mac OS) it and choose Rename.

Click a snapshot to change the current image settings to
those of the selected snapshot. The image preview updates accordingly.

To update, or overwrite, an existing snapshot with the current
image settings, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS)
the snapshot and choose Update With Current Settings.

To undo changes made to a snapshot, click Cancel.

Note: Use caution when clicking Cancel to undo
snapshot changes. All image adjustments made during the current
editing session are also lost.

To delete a snapshot, select it and click the Trash button at
the bottom of the tab. Or, right-click (Windows) or Control-click
(Mac OS) the snapshot and choose Delete.

Note:

If you apply snapshots in Photoshop Lightroom, you can edit them in the Camera Raw dialog box (and vice versa).

Save, reset, and load Camera Raw
settings

You can reuse the adjustments you’ve made to an image. You can save all the current Camera Raw image settings, or any subset of them, as a preset or as a new set of defaults. The default settings apply to a specific camera model, a specific camera serial number, or a specific ISO setting, depending on the settings in the Default Image Settings section of the Camera Raw preferences.

Presets appear by name in the Presets tab, in the Edit > Develop Settings menu in Adobe Bridge, in the context menu for camera raw images in Adobe Bridge, and in the Apply Presets submenu of the Camera Raw Settings menu in the Camera Raw dialog box. Presets are not listed in these locations if you don’t save them to the Camera Raw settings folder. However, you can use the Load Settings command to browse for and apply settings saved elsewhere.

Note:

You can save and delete presets using the buttons at the bottom of the Presets tab.

Click the Camera Raw Settings menu
button and
choose a command from the menu:

Save Settings

Saves the current settings as a preset. Choose which settings
to save in the preset, and then name and save the preset.

Save New Camera Raw Defaults

Saves the current settings as the new default settings for
other images taken with the same camera, with the same camera model,
or with the same ISO setting. Select the appropriate options in
the Default Image Settings section of the
Camera Raw preferences to specify whether to associate the defaults
with a specific camera’s serial number or with an ISO setting.

Reset Camera Raw Defaults

Restores the original default settings for the current camera,
camera model, or ISO setting.

Load Settings

Opens the Load Raw Conversion Settings dialog
box, in which you browse to the settings file, select it, and then
click Load.

Specify where Camera Raw settings
are stored

Choose a preference to specify where the settings
are stored. The XMP files are useful if you plan to move or store
the image files and want to retain the camera raw settings. You
can use the Export Settings command to copy
the settings in the Camera Raw database to sidecar XMP files or
embed the settings in Digital Negative (DNG) files.

When
a camera raw image file is processed with Camera Raw, the image
settings are stored in one of two places: the Camera Raw database
file or a sidecar XMP file. When a DNG file is processed in Camera
Raw, the settings are stored in the DNG file itself, but they can
be stored in a sidecar XMP file instead. Settings for TIFF and JPEG
files are always stored in the file itself.

Note:

When you
import a sequence of camera raw files in After Effects,
the settings for the first file are applied to all files in the
sequence that do not have their own XMP sidecar files. After
Effects does not check the Camera Raw database.

You
can set a preference to determine where settings are stored. When
you reopen a camera raw image, all settings default to the values
used when the file was last opened. Image attributes (target color
space profile, bit depth, pixel size, and resolution) are not stored
with the settings.

In the Camera Raw Preferences dialog
box, choose one of the following from the Save Image
Settings In menu:

Camera Raw Database

Stores the settings in a Camera Raw database file in
the folder Document and Settings/[user name]/Application
Data/Adobe/CameraRaw (Windows) or Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences
(Mac OS). This database is indexed by file content, so
the image retains camera raw settings even if the camera raw image
file is moved or renamed.

Sidecar “.XMP” Files

Stores the settings in a separate file, in the same folder as the camera raw file, with the same base name and an .xmp extension. This option is useful for long-term archiving of raw files with their associated settings, and for the exchange of camera raw files with associated settings in multiuser workflows. These same sidecar XMP files can store IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) data or other metadata associated with a camera raw image file. If you open files from a read-only volume such as a CD or DVD, be sure to copy the files to your hard disk before opening them. The Camera Raw plug-in cannot write an XMP file to a read-only volume and writes the settings to the Camera Raw database file instead. You can view XMP files in Adobe Bridge by choosing View > Show Hidden Files.

Note:

If you are using a revision control
system to manage your files and are storing settings in sidecar
XMP files, keep in mind that you must check your sidecar files in
and out to change camera raw images; similarly, you must manage
(e.g., rename, move, delete) XMP sidecar files together with their
camera raw files. Adobe Bridge, Photoshop, After Effects,
and Camera Raw take care of this file synchronization when you work
with files locally.

Note:

If you store the camera
raw settings in the Camera Raw database and plan to move the files
to a different location (CD, DVD, another computer, and so forth),
you can use the Export Settings To XMP command
to export the settings to sidecar XMP files.

If you want to store all adjustments to DNG files in
the DNG files themselves, select Ignore Sidecar “.XMP” Files in
the DNG File Handling section of the Camera Raw Preferences dialog
box.

Copy and paste Camera Raw settings

In Adobe Bridge, you can copy and paste the
Camera Raw settings from one image file to another.

Uses the settings from the previous image of the same camera,
camera model, or ISO setting.

Preset name

Uses the settings (which can be a subset of all image settings) saved
as a preset.

Applying a preset

Note:

You
can also apply presets from the Presets tab.

Export Camera Raw settings and
DNG previews

If you store file settings in the Camera Raw
database, you can use the Export Settings To
XMP command to copy the settings to sidecar XMP files or embed them
in DNG files. This is useful for preserving the image settings with
your camera raw files when you move them.

You can also update
the JPEG previews embedded in DNG files.

Open the files in the Camera Raw dialog box.

If you are exporting settings or previews for multiple
files, select their thumbnails in the Filmstrip view.

The sidecar XMP files are created in the same folder as
the camera raw image files. If you saved the camera raw image files
in DNG format, the settings are embedded in the DNG files themselves.

Specify Camera Raw workflow options

Workflow options specify settings for all files
output from Camera Raw, including the color bit depth, color space,
output sharpening, and pixel dimensions. Workflow options determine
how Photoshop opens these files but not how After Effects
imports a camera raw file. Workflow options settings do not affect the
camera raw data itself.

You can specify workflow options
settings by clicking the underlined text at the bottom of the Camera
Raw dialog box.

Space

Specifies the target color profile. Generally, set Space
to the color profile you use for your Photoshop RGB working
space. The source profile for camera raw image files is usually
the camera-native color space. The profiles listed in the Space
menu are built in to Camera Raw. To use a color space that’s not
listed in the Space menu, choose ProPhoto RGB, and then convert
to the working space of your choice when the file opens in Photoshop.

Depth

Specifies whether the file opens as an 8‑bpc or 16‑bpc image
in Photoshop.

Size

Specifies the pixel dimensions of the image when imported into Photoshop. The default pixel dimensions are those used to photograph the image. To resample the image, use the Crop Size menu.

For square-pixel cameras, choosing a smaller-than-native size can speed processing when you are planning a smaller final image. Picking a larger size is like upsampling in Photoshop.

For non-square pixel cameras, the native size is the size that most closely preserves the total pixel count. Selecting a different size minimizes the resampling that Camera Raw performs, resulting in slightly higher image quality. The best quality size is marked with an asterisk (*) in the Size menu.

Note: You can always change the pixel size of the image after it opens in Photoshop.

Resolution

Specifies the resolution at which the image is printed. This
setting does not affect the pixel dimensions. For example, a 2048
x 1536 pixel image, when printed at 72 dpi, is approximately
28‑1/2 x 21‑1/4 inches. When printed at 300 dpi, the same
image is approximately 6‑3/4 x 5‑1/8 inches. You can also
use the Image Size command to adjust resolution
in Photoshop.

Sharpen For

Allows you to apply output sharpening for Screen, Matte
Paper, or Glossy Paper. If you
apply output sharpening, you can change the Amount pop-up menu to
Low or High to decrease or increase the amount of sharpening applied.
In most cases, you can leave the Amount set to the default option, Standard.

Open In Photoshop As Smart Objects

Causes Camera Raw images to open in Photoshop as a Smart
Object layer instead of a background layer when you click the Open
button. To override this preference for selected images, press Shift when
clicking Open.

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